Indian man admits plot to kill US-based Sikh separatist leader

An Indian man accused of plotting to kill a Sikh separatist leader in New York City has pleaded guilty to three criminal charges in a federal court.

Nikhil Gupta, 54, admitted to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces up to 40 years in prison.

The target of the alleged plot, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, is an American citizen who advocates for Khalistan. The Khalistan movement calls for an independent homeland for Sikhs in India.

Prosecutors allege Gupta was directed by an Indian government official to carry out the plot. India denies having anything to do with the alleged plot to kill Pannun.

"Nikhil Gupta plotted to assassinate a US citizen in New York City," said US Attorney Jay Clayton. "He thought that from outside this country he could kill someone in it without consequence, simply for exercising their American right to free speech. But he was wrong, and he will face justice."

The BBC has contacted Gupta's lawyer for comment.

In a statement to the BBC, Pannun said that "Nikhil Gupta's guilty plea is judicial confirmation that India's Modi Government orchestrated a structured murder-for-hire assassination plot on American soil".

India has labelled Pannun a terrorist, though he denies the allegation, claiming to be an activist advocating for Khalistan.

Sikhs are a religious minority that make up about 2% of India's population. Some groups have long called for a separate homeland for Sikhs called Khalistan.

The movement is not prominent in India now with most major political parties, including in Punjab, opposing such calls. But supporters in the Sikh diaspora have continued to advocate for Khalistan.

Prosecutors alleged that Gupta was recruited by an Indian government employee in May 2023 adding that the pair met in Delhi to discuss the potential assassination.

The officer, Vikash Yadav, worked for Indian government's Cabinet Secretariat, which houses India's foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing, according to the indictment.

Yadav has not been arrested in connection to the charges.

The indictment alleged that at Yadav's orders, Gupta contacted a man to hire someone to carry out the killing in New York.

The man, a government informant, introduced Gupta to a second person who presented himself as a hitman but who was actually an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration officer, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors alleged that Yadav gave Gupta information about the murder target, including his home address in New York and his phone numbers, which Gupta then fed to to the purported hitman.

The target was an associate of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, also active in the Sikh separatist movement, who was murdered by a masked gunman in Canada in June.

Shortly after Nijjar's murder, Gupta allegedly told the purported hitman that Nijjar was "also the target", adding "we have so many targets", prosecutors said.

Canada then accused India of being linked to both Nijjar's murder and to the murder plot against Pannun. India denied any involvement in both cases.